EP1AGX50CF484I6 - Arria GX FPGA 50K LE 484-FBGA | Intel
MPN: EP1AGX50CF484I6 ✗ End of Life| Qty | Unit Price | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $385 | $385.00 |
| 10 | $358.5 | $3,585.00 |
| 100 | $325 | $32,500.00 |
| 500 | $298.75 | $149,375.00 |
| 1,000 | $275 | $275,000.00 |
EP1AGX50CF484I6 Overview
A Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) is a semiconductor device built around an array of configurable logic blocks (CLBs), programmable interconnects, and dedicated silicon resources such as block RAM, DSP slices, and high-speed transceivers. FPGAs sit in the programmable-logic hierarchy above CPLDs and below ASICs in terms of integration density. The Arria GX family targets mid-range applications that need a balance of logic density, embedded memory, DSP bandwidth, and serial connectivity at lower cost and power than the Stratix family, making it the canonical choice for bridging protocol conversion, video bridging, and cost-sensitive wireless baseband processing.
Key features of the EP1AGX50CF484I6 include 50,160 logic elements, 4.5 Mbits of embedded TriMatrix memory split across MRAM blocks, up to 229 maximum user I/O pins, embedded 18x18 multipliers for DSP, and 4 to 12 multi-gigabit transceivers supporting data rates up to 3.125 Gbps with CPRI, OBSAI, PCIe, Serial RapidIO, and Gigabit Ethernet protocols. The device is configured via a fast passive parallel or active serial scheme and supports in-system programmability through JTAG.
Architecturally, the Arria GX device combines a 90 nm SRAM-based configuration memory with on-die PLL blocks (up to 8 PLLs) for clock management, dedicated DDR/DDR2/QDRII memory controllers, and the Logic Array Blocks (LABs) that comprise the LEs. The transceiver tiles use a hardened PCS and PMA layer, offloading 8b/10b encoding and word-alignment from soft logic and freeing fabric resources for application code.
Typical applications for this device include wireless baseband processing, video bridging and image processing, PCI Express endpoint implementations, serial RapidIO backplanes, and protocol-conversion ASIC-replacement designs in defense and industrial imaging. The 484-ball FBGA package supports compact board layouts with 1.0 mm ball pitch.
When designing with the EP1AGX50CF484I6, plan the power budget carefully: the core 1.2 V rail can draw more than 1 A under full utilization, and the transceiver analog supply must be low-noise. Provide at least four PCB layers with dedicated ground and power planes and keep the transceiver supply traces short and isolated. Designers should also configure unused transceivers to their lowest-power state to meet industrial EMI targets.
This page synthesizes distributor pricing, FPGA fabric comparison data, and PCB-layout design notes not found in the manufacturer datasheet, giving engineers a single reference for evaluating the EP1AGX50CF484I6 against pin-compatible Arria GX siblings and newer Intel/Altera Cyclone and Stratix alternatives.
Drop-in alternatives for EP1AGX50CF484I6 — same package, pin-to-pin compatible. Different-package parts requiring PCB rework are excluded.
Variants in this series
Same-series models that are drop-in compatible with EP1AGX50CF484I6 (same form factor and footprint) — differing in Package, Speed Grade, Embedded Memory, Operating Temperature, Logic Elements (LE).
Quick Comparison Tool — Select alternative parts for side-by-side comparison:
EP1AGX50CF484C6N
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$198 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP1AGX50CF484C6
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$189.5 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP1AGX50CF484C5N
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$108.4 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP1AGX50CF484C4N
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$175 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP1AGX50CF484C4
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$305 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP1AGX50CF484C3
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$218 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP1AGX35CF484I6
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$198.5 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP1AGX35CF484I6N
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$120 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP1AGX50CF484I6 Maximum Ratings & Electrical Characteristics
| Family | Arria GX |
| Logic Elements (LEs) | 50160 |
| Process Technology | 90 nm |
| Core Voltage | 1.2 V |
| Package | 484-ball FBGA (FC-FBGA), 1.0 mm pitch |
| Package Code | S-PBGA-B484 |
| Maximum User I/O | 229 |
| Number of Terminals | 484 |
| Package Shape | Square |
| Embedded Memory | 2475072 bits |
| Transceiver Count | Up to 12 (3.125 Gbps) |
| Speed Grade | I6 (industrial) |
| Operating Temperature Range | -40C to +100C (industrial) |
| Configuration Scheme | Passive serial, passive parallel, JTAG |
| PLL Count | Up to 8 |
| RoHS Status | Compliant |
| MSL Level | 3 |
| Mounting Type | Surface Mount |
| Body Material | Plastic / Epoxy |
EP1AGX50CF484I6 square Pin Configuration Guide
Pin configuration for EP1AGX50CF484I6 (square package). This digital IC includes GPIO, communication interfaces (UART, SPI, I2C), and power pins. Refer to the manufacturer datasheet for alternate pin functions and configuration options. Essential for embedded system design and PCB layout.
No detailed pinout data available for EP1AGX50CF484I6.
Refer to the datasheet for full pin configuration.
Typical Applications
EP1AGX50CF484I6 is suitable for 6 applications: Wireless Baseband Processing, PCI Express Endpoint Card, Video Bridging and Image Processing, Serial RapidIO Backplane Interface, ASIC Replacement for Industrial Controllers, Protocol Conversion Gateway.
Wireless Baseband Processing
The EP1AGX50CF484I6 is a strong fit for wireless baseband processing because its 50,160 logic elements plus embedded 18x18 multipliers deliver the DSP throughput required for channel coding, FFT/iFFT blocks, and digital up/down conversion. The on-chip multi-gigabit transceivers support CPRI and OBSAI links up to 3.125 Gbps, eliminating the need for external PHY chips and reducing board area. With industrial temperature grade the device handles outdoor remote-radio-head and small-cell deployments.
Recommended
PCI Express Endpoint Card
Use the EP1AGX50CF484I6 as a single-chip PCIe Gen1 endpoint for protocol analyzer cards, frame grabbers, or DSP accelerator boards. The hardened PCIe hard IP block supports x1/x4/x8 lane configurations at 2.5 Gbps and integrates the transaction, data link, and physical layers, freeing fabric resources for the application logic. The 229 user I/O pins expose plenty of LVDS pairs for high-speed data acquisition paths parallel to the PCIe link.
Recommended
Video Bridging and Image Processing
The 50,160 LEs and 2.5 Mbits of TriMatrix memory make the EP1AGX50CF484I6 suitable for bridging between DVI/HDMI/DisplayPort sources and LCD controllers, performing on-the-fly color-space conversion, scaling, and overlay composition. Embedded multipliers accelerate 2D filter kernels (Sobel, Gaussian, motion compensation) for surveillance or machine-vision pipelines. Industrial temperature grade supports factory-floor imaging equipment.
Recommended
Serial RapidIO Backplane Interface
The Arria GX multi-gigabit transceivers implement Serial RapidIO (SRIO) physical layer at 1.25, 2.5, and 3.125 Gbps, making the EP1AGX50CF484I6 a fit for DSP-fabric interconnect in wireless base stations and aerospace signal-processing backplanes. The 484-ball FBGA provides sufficient I/O to expose multiple SRIO lanes alongside control-plane Ethernet and JTAG. Industrial temperature grade supports outdoor or avionics deployment.
Recommended
ASIC Replacement for Industrial Controllers
Use the EP1AGX50CF484I6 to replace aging ASICs in industrial control systems where firmware updates or last-time-buy recovery are required. The 50K-LE fabric plus embedded multipliers and TriMatrix memory cover most motion-control and encoder-processing algorithms without external DSP chips. Industrial temperature grade and rugged FBGA package meet factory-floor reliability expectations over multi-year service windows.
Recommended
Protocol Conversion Gateway
The EP1AGX50CF484I6 serves as a multi-protocol gateway bridging Ethernet, Serial RapidIO, PCIe, and custom LVDS fabrics on a single chip. Its 50,160 LEs and dedicated transceiver tiles map incoming serial streams to outgoing formats with deterministic latency. Industrial temperature and 229 user I/O pins support line-card applications where multiple PHY interfaces must coexist on one board.
Recommended
Recommended Products Summary
Engineering reference data for EP1AGX50CF484I6 — comparison, design guidance, and compliance information.
Selection Guide
Comparison with Alternatives
| Parameter | This Product | EP1AGX50CF484C6N | EP1AGX50CF484C5N | EP1AGX35CF484I6 | EP1AGX50CF484C4N | EP1AGX50CF484C3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Package | 484-ball FBGA (1.0 mm pitch) | 484-ball FBGA - same | 484-ball FBGA - same | 484-ball FBGA - same | 484-ball FBGA - same | 484-ball FBGA - same |
| Brand | Intel | Intel | Intel | Intel | Intel | Intel |
| Logic Elements | 50160 | 50160 | 50160 | 35000 | 50160 | 50160 |
| Temperature Grade | Industrial (-40C to +100C) | Commercial (0C to +85C) | Commercial (0C to +85C) | Industrial (-40C to +100C) | Commercial (0C to +85C) | Commercial (0C to +85C) |
| Speed Grade | I6 | C6 | C5 | I6 | C4 | C3 |
| Embedded Memory | 2475072 bits | 2475072 bits | 2475072 bits | 1720320 bits | 2475072 bits | 2475072 bits |
| Core Voltage | 1.2 V | 1.2 V | 1.2 V | 1.2 V | 1.2 V | 1.2 V |
| Process Technology | 90 nm | 90 nm | 90 nm | 90 nm | 90 nm | 90 nm |
Key Differentiators
- Industrial temperature grade in the fastest speed bin (vs EP1AGX50CF484C6N)
- Largest LE density in the Arria GX 484-ball package (vs EP1AGX35CF484I6)
- Higher transceiver lane count vs Cyclone IV GX peers (vs EP1AGX35CF484I6)
Design Notes
The EP1AGX50CF484I6 requires a low-noise 1.2 V core supply capable of delivering up to 1.5 A under full fabric and transceiver utilization. Decouple each VCCINT pin with a 0.1 uF X7R ceramic capacitor placed within 3 mm of the BGA pad, and add bulk 220 uF polymer or low-ESR electrolytic capacitors near the regulator output. Transceiver analog supplies (VCCA) must be filtered with a ferrite bead and decoupled with 10 uF + 0.1 uF pairs per pin pair.
Use at least an 8-layer stack-up with dedicated ground and power planes for the 484-ball FBGA. Escape the BGA with 0.10 mm (4 mil) traces on the top layer, transitioning through microvias to inner signal layers. Keep transceiver differential pairs length-matched within 0.13 mm (5 mil) and route over a continuous ground reference plane to maintain 100 ohm differential impedance for 3.125 Gbps operation.
Configure all unused multi-gigabit transceivers to their lowest-power state in the Quartus II device settings to avoid spurious emissions on industrial EMI scans. Do not leave JTAG TCK floating; tie it to GND through a 1 kohm resistor if unused. Always include a pull-up on the nCONFIG pin and a 2.5 kohm pull-up on MSEL pins to set the correct configuration scheme at power-up.
Place the EPCS configuration flash within 50 mm of the FPGA DATA0/DCLK/nCONFIG/nCSO pins to ensure signal integrity at fast passive serial rates. Provide a 33 ohm series damping resistor on the DCLK line if the flash is mounted beyond 25 mm. Keep clock input pins (CLK0-CLK7) short and surrounded by GND vias to minimize jitter; the on-chip PLLs are sensitive to reference-clock phase noise above 100 kHz offset.
Estimated: at 100% utilization with all 12 transceivers active, the EP1AGX50CF484I6 dissipates approximately 3.5 W (core ~2.5 W + I/O ~0.4 W + transceivers ~0.6 W). The 484-ball FBGA has a typical theta_JA of 14 C/W with a JEDEC JESD51-7 8-layer test board, yielding roughly 49 C junction-to-ambient rise. At industrial-grade 100 C junction limit, ensure ambient stays below 51 C with 200 LFM airflow, or attach a small heatsink through the top-side thermal pad.
Compliance Information
RoHS and lead-free compliance per Altera/Intel product page. AEC-Q100 not applicable (this is an FPGA, not an automotive-grade IC). Halogen-free status not explicitly stated in verified data.
